• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

What could be a occupation for a dhampir?

Dhampirs. Those are hybrids. They have a human mother and a vampire father.

In my story series, they’ll live with the vampires together in one society. But I can’t make the same move like Richelle Mead.—Making them to bodyguards. And making them to evil vampire hunter is cheesy! (*cough* Marvel’s blade *cough*)

Before you begin, my protagonist will be a dhampir, who makes a training at the academy/school.

So…

Now. Do you have any idea for a useful occupation?
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
I'd say in that case the suggestions I made are still valid. You could add something like barrista or waiter to the list, or you could add something like a night-shift clerk at a local gas station or things like that.

My impression is that it's a present day setting. Look at what regular people trying to get through university do to work on the side. Keep in mind that if you're serious about graduating, you're going to have trouble holding down a full time job, but something that lets you work off-hours or part time, is a good option.
You'd also want a job that you can disconnect from when you're done with it so you can focus your time on your studies and not be distracted by the job.

Did you have anything in particular in mind?
 
Svrtnsse Err ... Yes! It’s a modern-day story. The setting is like a university castle. There is a lot of forests and a small city is not far away, But there is nothing more.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
Ah, that's pretty cool.

It also puts a bit of a limit on what's reasonable as far as work goes - which is a good thing. Limitation breeds creativity.

I'm assuming your main characters are teenagers, and they live at the castle, right? Do they get food there or will they have to go to the nearby town and sort out their own food? How do they pay for accomodation and tuition?
What I'm getting at is this: is there an actual need for them to have jobs on the side?

Second: In that setting, what kind of work would be needed that the characters could do?
Perhaps they have the option to help out around the castle, like with maintenance work or such? Maybe that's a way for some of the student to help pay for the stay there? Perhaps some students have rich parents who pay for everything, while some students have to work in the kitchen or the laundry or something like that in order to get them through?
It could also be there's work in the forest that needs doing, or in the castle gardens.

It sounds unlikely that someone from the castle/school would get a part time job in the nearby town, but it could happen. It'd be a nice way to get out and meet people, but it may also be that the town doesn't have much in the way of job opportunites to offer. Additionally, they might be reluctant to give jobs to people from the castle and prefer giving it to people they know.

In light of that, I'd guess the most plausible job for a student at the school would be as some kind of support staff at the school.
 
Svrtnsse Yah! The protagonist is a teen dhampir. The most other students are teens, too. They’ll live in dorm towers. The protagonist’s mentor will be a dhampir, too. And the most other teachers and the principal will be vampires.
 

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
So Vampire Harry Potter? What are they trying to survive against? You say they are trying to survive until graduation..... survive what? Is there something that wants to kill them? Are they trying to kill each other?
 
Heliotrope Not really like Harry Potter. They’re trying to survive against Werewolves, vampire killers, evil vampire, witches (they can curse you. Maybe with a love curse that you fall in love with a +40 guy.), and maybe gods.
 

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
I’m married to a +40 guy..... lol. But okay.

Who is your main character? What does he/she want? What is the main conflict of the plot?
 
Heliotrope I got the protagonist already. Her name is Paige Ross. She is a 17 years old dhampir in training. Her hair is red, long and wavy. She has black eyes. Paige tries to survive until she gets her graduate. (I don’t know if I should use that guardian stuff. That’s too similar to Vampire Academy. With vampire royalties, too.) Yep! That’s the main conflict: Survive as long as you can. How I told ya, I don’t know if I should use that guardian and royals stuff. Although, Dracula is a (more or less) royal, too.
 

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
What do vampires do after University? Like, let’s pretend she does survive... what do you learn at vampire university? Usually you go to University to become trained for a chosen profession. What does Paige want to do after graduate? What is she training for?
 
Heliotrope Paige is trained for protecting. (For what, I didn’t decide yet. Because of this too-similar-problem.) You can do many at the fictive school in my mind. I planned that the dhampirs and vampires get separate courses. For example, the dhampirs get a complete protecting training (combat practical and theoretical, etc.). While the vampires learn how to control the elemental powers and use them for useful (and good) stuff. By the way, what do you think about Guarding royal vampires?
 

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
Yeah, that could be interesting... personal bodyguard training. If that is the case, then I like Svts idea, maybe they do get jobs as bouncers at night clubs. I image they have to be pretty strong, so they might also be athletes on sports teams, or coaches for children’s sports, It would be compelling, than, if the main character was the opposite of this expectation. She is weaker than the rest, or not interested in this career path. She wants to do something else, like be a doctor or a teacher or something.
 

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
I think you can do better, honestly. I think that idea has been done, as you said, and there are other ways to twist the vampire trope. But, I think you need to come up with a plot first, then that might give you a clue. Right now you don’t have a plot,
 

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
Well, you need an premise. A girl and a career and a setting is not a premise. You need to think of a "what if" statement. Do you ever daydream about stuff.... like, worry about stuff? (Good and bad) Some of mine are:

What if there was a zombie apocalypse and I had to pick only one of my children to rescue?
What if we won the lottery? Would our family be able to stay the same? Or would we end up greedy and spoiled and divorced?
What if my son had telepathy and could read minds? Would I tell anyone? Or would I try to teach him to keep it a secret?
What if my husband ended up brain damaged and unable to care for himself? Would I stay true to him? (The premise for my current story).

When I was on Search and Rescue a fantasy I had was:
What if this wasn't a rescue, but a trap by a colony of cannabals or witches who faked a missing person to get us out into the wilderness where they are going to eat us?

I canoe a lot, so I worry about:
What if we capsized and I was drowned and my seven year old had to look after his five year old autistic sister until help arrived?

What are some fantasies from your real life? Some "what if" worries or hopes you might have? All of this stuff is the fodder for story. For plot.

All of these are "what if" statements that involve a choice. These are "premise statements" and they are the start of a plot. Pretty much everyone has a million premise statements in their own mind. You think about them all the time. These are the "what if" fantasy's you daydream about on a regular basis.

Try to think of a What If? statement for your story.

Here are some articles to read to get you started:

How to Identify Your Story's Premise-and Its Most Important Part - Helping Writers Become Authors

How to Identify Your Story's Premise-and Its Most Important Part - Helping Writers Become Authors

Story Concept and Story Premise: Do You Know the Crucial Difference? - Helping Writers Become Authors
 
Last edited:
Top